Viperidae, Viperinae, Crotalinae
by heffy
Summary: TR HrG 'Ernie Macmillan saw you snogging a boy in the corridor yesterday.' Hermione’s eyes snapped open, 'What! I did not...I would never...' She realised she was rambling. Yesterday. What had she done yesterday? Why couldn't she remember? UPDATE 11 AUG
1. Parts 1 to 3

I don't boast to be a good writer. I write for my own enjoyment, and merely hope that others may also enjoy my work. I know however, my style of writing will not be to everyone's taste, and ask that all those who read it be gentle. Sorry if it's dreadful. lol

Set during the Gryffindor trio's 6th year  
  
hiss.

Hermione rolled over in her bed.

hiss hiss

Hermione groaned and sat up.  
  
Groggily she blinked, trying to clear the sleep from her eyes. She had been in the midst of taking her NEWTS in her dream, when suddenly her test paper had started hissing at her. Odd. Very odd.  
  
But then, there was nothing normal about Hermione Granger's life. The only child of two dentists, the Granger family had been in the midst of their breakfast's on their back porch one Saturday morning, basking in the warmth of the sun when her Hogwarts letter had fallen directly from the beak of a snowy white owl and into her lap.  
  
hisssssss hissssss hissssssss. She froze. What was that.  
  
Hermione felt, for the first time since wakening the slight indentation of weight at the bottom end of her coverlet. She reluctantly shifted the direction of her gaze.  
  
Oh. Holy. God.  
  
Positioned in the previously mentioned location was a huge snake.  
  
Immediately to dull the sheer unadulterated terror suddenly pounding through her veins, Hermione switched her brain into have-memorized-every- book-ever-printed mode.  
  
Right. We have a stout-bodied, broad-headed, roughly 2.5-meter long snake with long fangs.  
  
A Viper. The answer leapt out at her immediately, followed by a dribble of further information, none of which assisted in quelling her fears.  
  
Viper. A venomous snake belonging to the family Viperidae, which consists of roughly 150 species. A snake possessed of long erectile fangs, which are folded back when not in use. They vary from 0.3 to 3 meters long. Vipers feed on small animals, which are injected with their venom and then trailed until they die. Most give birth to live young. Old world vipers belonging to the subfamily Viperinae are generally ground dwelling, although some are burrowers and some arboreal. New world vipers belong to the subfamily Crotalinae and are known as pit vipers, due to having a sensory pit between the eye and nostril used to detect the tiny changes in temperature caused by warm-blooded prey nearby.  
  
hisssssssssssssssssssss.

The long drawn out 'S' almost seemed to imply impatience. Impertinent thing.

hisss. hisss.

Warily Hermione looked directly into the viper's beady black eyes.  
  
"What?" She whispered, feeling thoroughly stupid. "D-do you want something?"

hissss.

"Was that a yes?"

hisss.

"Ummm, goodness, where's Harry when you need him..." Silently, the snake slid from the bed, to the carpeted floor and proceeded to slither to the door. Once there, it turned its beady eyes to her. hissssssss.

It jerked its head. Hermione could have sworn it was indicating something to her...

'perhaps it wants me to follow it' she thought

Almost as if sensing her thoughts, the Viper gave a loud hiss.

"Why do I get the feeling that this is a bad idea..." Hermione said as she got up and grabbed her black robe, which she had neatly draped over the back of a chair. She slid her arms into the sleeves and buttoned it up, leaving the top few buttons undone.  
  
A very faint sounding part of her brain whispered that, perhaps she should leave a note for Ron and Harry. She gave an unlady-like snort. 'Saying what Hermione?' an inner voice mocked, "Hey Harry and Ron, Don't worry if you can't find me. I'm following a poisonous snake down the hall" ????? 'Well, that would certainly go down well'.  
  
She slipped her feet into a pair of shoes. With a rather dramatic turn, the Viper proceeded to slither out the door and into the corridor, down the stairs, into the common room and over to the hole in the wall that served as the entrance to the Gryffindor dormitories. Hermione pushed the portrait door open, dimly she heard the end of a snore and a sharp intake of breath from the Fat Lady "Passw- ahhhh!" she had obviously noticed the viper. The Viper gave a great hiss and the Fat Lady went quiet, but glared disapprovingly at Hermione. Dimly she couldn't help thinking that there was something decidedly wrong about this situation. Why on earth was she actually following the snake, it seemed such a stupid thing to do. And yet, even as she thought this, her feet took her forward as she followed the snake further into the dark, silent school.

End of part one  
  
The air was damp and cold on her face, and she shivered as she stepped off one of the many moving staircases, and back onto the main floor of the school.  
  
The viper sped quickly along the ground, not a single sound made in the course of its movement.  
  
It turned suddenly, it's beady eyes boring into hers, as if it could tell exactly what form her thoughts were taking.

'I'm following a snake- a poisonous snake to god alone knows where!' here mind shrieked at her.  
  
It was a dangerous time she lived in, especially for a muggle-born, or mudblood as a certain blonde Slytherin so charmingly put it. Snakes didn't just appear in your room wanting you to follow them. True, she couldn't prove for certain that was what it wanted, she wasn't a parselmouth after all, but somehow, she just knew.  
  
And yet, even as these doubts sprouted in the garden of her mind, like ivy, spreading and taking over everything, her feet refused to stop. They kept moving forward, one after the other. Left, right, left right, further and further following the viper as it slithered toward it destination.  
  
Left, right. Left, right.  
  
Slither, slither. Slither, slither.  
  
Further and further into the darkness.  
  
They rounded another corner, the viper and the muggleborn. It was pitch black, Hermione could no longer see the snake, but she knew it was there, two or three paces ahead of her.  
  
Her breath was coming in short shallow pants; she could feel dampness on her forehead and the small of her back where fear oozed from her pores.  
  
Left, right. Left, right.  
  
Slither, slither. Slither, slither.  
  
Further yet into the darkness they went.  
  
Hermione prayed for her feet to stop, when suddenly, remarkably they did. She almost cried in relief. Her feet were working! she could turn around and go ba-  
  
No.  
  
No, they weren't working. They were still under some kind of thrall from the snake.  
  
Her hand reached forward into the darkness against her will.  
  
'No' her mind pleaded. 'Stop, please don't.'  
  
But her body wouldn't listen.  
  
Her hand- the hand the snake seemed to control hand grasped something cold and hard.  
  
'A doorhandle' her mind dimly registered, before her hand turned it, and pushed.  
  
The door opened with a creak. Hermione and the snake entered the blackness. She heard the door close behind them.  
  
hisss.  
  
Suddenly, there was light. She could see!  
  
She could see... the girl's toilet. Moaning Myrtles toilet.  
  
'What on Earth?' The snake was standing in front of one of the sinks. Hermione could see herself in the mirror- the pupils of her chocolate iris dilated in terror.  
  
She had changed a great deal. Almost 16, sweet sixteen. Her hair flowed just past her shoulders in curly brown and golden waves, slightly tousled from her sleep. Her red, pouting lips pursed in concentration. Unknown to her, she had become one of Hogwarts finest beauties.  
  
One thing about her had not changed. She was still one of the finest minds ever to grace the halls of Hogwarts. There hadn't been a student of her intellect in over 50 years. And before that, the only souls recorded to possess such intellect were Salazar Slytherin and Isabella Gryffindor, Godric's younger sibling. It was no surprise to Hermione, after having read the information about Slazar's I.Q that the star pupil of 1948 was Salazar Slytherin's descendant. Tom Riddle.  
  
Hermione's gaze drifted across the mirror above the sink, not observing the reflection, but merely the glass. Her gaze dropped lower to the tiles below the mirror, and further still to the tap and then the sink.  
  
In her peripheral vision she had noticed a mark on the side of the tap that she had never seen before.  
  
Her eyes flew up to the spout of the tap and focused intently.  
  
There.  
  
On the side of the tap was the symbol of a snake.  
  
She had a feeling that she knew what this was, but wished fervently that she was wrong.  
  
Harry and Ron had reluctantly told her of the events in their second year surrounding the Chamber of Secrets.  
  
She knew they had found the entrance, but, due to being sworn to secrecy by Dumbledore, they had never divulged where exactly the said entrance lay.  
  
It looked like she too had found it.  
  
The snake began to hiss rapidly.  
  
A flash of green light and the sink, tap, tiles and mirror moved aside to reveal an opening.  
  
An opening to Salazar Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets.

End of part two  
  
Hermione slid down to the bottom floor from the bathroom above. The skeletons of mice covered the floor.  
  
hiss.  
  
The snake was still there.  
  
Unbidden, Hermione's feet started to move forward, confidently, weaving around the bones as if she knew the clear path by heart.  
  
At length, her feet came to a stop.  
  
Hermione's eyes flew around her surroundings, taking in every detail.  
  
In front of her, was a large silver door. It looked much like the door to vaults that the muggle banks were so fond of, except for the snakes, which were intricately carved with little scales and beady eyes.  
  
Again the snake began to hiss, and as it did, the ornamental snakes began to move, around and around the perimeter of the door.  
  
Crank.  
  
Crank.  
  
Crank.  
  
As each snake moved around a loud noise resounded, sounding as if large locks were being opened...  
  
crank.  
  
The vault-like door gave way to an entrance.  
  
Hermione's tour guide, the viper slid confidently inside. Hermione's feet followed.  
  
Holy Merlin on a broomstick.  
  
Whatever Hermione had been expecting, it certainly wasn't this. Large statues of snakes' heads lined the sides of the great hall-like room inside the chamber. They were surrounded by water, which created the feel of a moat surrounding a great castle.  
  
A path led further into the chamber, and split the "moat" in half.  
  
Hermione walked up the path, and deeper into the chamber. Further still her feet commanded her, weaving through long, dark corridors. Turn left. Straight ahead. Turn right. Straight ahead.  
  
Finally Hermione turned right into a corridor, and her surroundings changed. No longer was the corridor dank and decrepit, instead the walls were covered in engravings of a most beautiful and mesmerizing nature.  
  
Chandeliers hung from the roof and provided a soft, glowing lighting.  
  
At the end of the corridor was a door made of oak. Its handle was gold and encrusted with rubies. Dimly Hermione noted that these were Gyrffindor colours- her favourites. But the thought was soon forgotten as she reached out and turned the handle.  
  
The door swung open noiselessly and Hermione found herself in the most richly decorated and furnished room she had ever seen. It's finery and beauty was almost beyond comprehension.  
  
The room was decorated in a rich burgundy and dark green. With touches of gold and silver here and there.  
  
The bed was the largest Hermione had ever seen, and also the most inviting. She was so tired, so utterly exhausted that it seemed completely natural for her to pull back the red and green coverlet with it's silver and gold tassels.  
  
Had she not felt so drowsy she would have undoubtedly noticed the fact that the colour scheme seemed to be a mix of both Gryffindor and Slytherin. She would also have undoubtedly found this very curious and wondered why on earth Salazar Slytherin, who had despised Godric Gryffindor would choose to decorate a room in his chamber in such a manner.  
  
As it was however, Hermione could barely keep her eyes open. It was not beyond her to notice that the viper had disappeared, and she briefly wondered where precisely it had disappeared to, before sleep descended and she knew no more.

End of part 3


	2. Parts 4 to 5

To anyone other than Harry Potter, or the shadowed figure bent over a desk writing, the sounds of the viper would have made no sense in the process of thought other than your brain registering that it was a hiss.  
  
As it was however, the figure understood perfectly.  
  
"She is here, master. I have brought her, just as you asked."  
  
Tom Riddle turned toward the light and smiled.  
  
It was time.

end of part 4  
  
She was asleep. Tentatively, he made his way past the bed curtains to hover over Hermione's sleeping form.  
  
A triumphant gleam made his eyes almost glow in the darkness.  
  
She was really quite lovely; he reflected. Especially when she slept.  
  
For only in sleep could one ever glimpse the vulnerability that she'd never show when she was awake. She was unguarded, her face portraying her every feeling.  
  
Hermione sighed and rolled over, her face now opposite his, she was in the middle of the queen size bed. It gave a slight dip as he stretched his form out along the mattress, his body mirroring hers, he could feel her warm breath on his face as she exhaled.  
  
He reached out with long, elegant fingers and gently stroked her cheek. Sighing softly, her face arched toward the caressing hand.  
  
He didn't want to hurt her, didn't want to have to use force or trickery, but if necessary, he would. He hoped she would play nicely; she really was precious to him.  
  
Staring intently at her sleeping form, he noted the helpless look. She seemed so innocent, untouched.  
  
A mudblood. One of Dumbledore's brilliant ideas no doubt.

They had been a couple since fourth year, and both loved one another with a fierce passion. Head Boy and Head Girl. King and Queen of Slytherin they had joked.  
  
Of course, she had not known that he was serious. She did not know of his darkness, of his power, of his plans, or of his name. He had planned to tell her that night. However his plans had taken a drastic turn when she had come to Malfoy Manor early and walked in on a little 'gathering'.  
  
She had never shared his politics. No matter how he presented his argument, no matter how persuasive he had been, he had never been able to change her mind on that.  
  
Caleb Malfoy had provided the gathering with 'entertainment' in the form of two female muggles. The first one already lay dead, her life's blood fanning around her when she had arrived.  
  
She had not taken it well. She took off into the night.  
  
He had looked everywhere, using every source and informant he had, all to no avail. Even the most powerful of tracking spells, cast using the darkest of magic had failed him. He had never been able to find her.  
  
Never, until little over a month ago, the youngest Malfoy, Draco, had been brought by Lucius to a Death Eater gathering, during the Christmas break at the end of his fifth year. He had brought with him the prefects year book, which listed the selected prefects of each year group and house and the Head Boy and Head Girl.  
  
He had not been the slightest bit interested, but had indulged Lucius' rantings about how Draco would be able to monitor the school's defence and discover the weak points. The moment Lucius had opened to the page where his son's photograph was displayed and proffered the little book to him, his whole being had felt alive in a way that was so foreign to him now.  
  
Hermione.  
  
Dumbledore had obviously sent her soul to the future to be reborn. And had, partly for her safety and partly, he was sure, out of some ridiculous sense of irony, seen to it that she was reborn to muggle parents.  
  
As unfortunate as it was, he would make an exception. He would have her back in his arms and back in his bed, no matter what.  
  
She wouldn't escape what was coming, wouldn't escape him, he'd see to that, he could not take her just yet, she wasn't ready, but soon. When the time came, he would use whatever means necessary to secure her.

end of part 5


	3. Part 6

Sunlight was tickling her eyelids and soft, feminine giggles could be heard. Hermione jerked awake, and into a sitting position. But she was in bed. Her bed, in her dormitory, safe and sound. The giggles she could hear were those of her two roommates, Lavender and Padma.

"Morning sleepyhead" Lavender chirped bouncing over to sit on the corner of her bed.

Padma joined her. "How anyone can possibly sleep in on Valentine's Day is beyond me!"

Hermione blinked owlishly at them "V- valentine's Day?" she croaked out, her thoughts sweeping through her mind faster than the speed of light. St. Valentines Day was on Sunday the 14th of Febuary, and last night had most definitely been Friday the 12th.

"Lavender I think you've got the day confused, Valentines Day isn't until tomorrow."

"Oh don't be silly, Hermione" Padma playfully chastised her. "As if we wouldn't know what day Valentine's Day was, I mean, it's only..."  
"The most Romantic Day of the year!" Lavender cut off her friend mid sentence. Padma nodded.

"And just when we're you planning to tell us? Who is it?" she asked

"It can't be Ron, he couldn't keep it a secret for so long" Lavender mused.

"Is it Harry?"

"Or Neville?"

"Oh don't be silly Lavender, Neville could never be so romantic!"

Hermione watched the two her eyes shifting back and forth between the two as if witnessing a tennis match. She interrupted their tirade with a curt "I have utterly no idea what you're talking about" Her mind was still trying to calculate the fact that she had somehow witnessed the passing of an entire day, and couldn't remember a second of it.

Two blonde heads were cocked at an angle looking at her with hurt expressions.

"So you're not going to tell us?"

"That is so unfair"

"Don't you trust us?"

By now she had lost track of who was saying what, and a dull pounding had arisen in her head.

"Lavender, Padma, if either of you could give me a clue as to what your talking, I would be eternally grateful." She said, lifting her hand to massage her temples.

"Well," One of the voices began, "I heard it from Patit, who head it from Susan Bones, who heard it from Hannah, who heard it from Ernie Macmillan, who saw you snogging with a boy in the corridor yesterday, while he was dong his prefect patrol"

Hermione's eyes snapped open at this "What! This is slander!"

Her two companions just stared at her with identical amused expressions.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of"

"So come on, tell us who he is!"

Hermione dimly heard a choking sound, and realised it was coming from her.

She jumped up. "I did not... I would never. I, I." She realised she was rambling.

Taking a calming breath, she began again. "Lavender, Padma, What Ernie said is an outright lie. I would never act so irresponsibly. I have never been kissed in my life, let alone.... Well, you know... snogged someone!.

Lavender and Padma both shared a look. "All right then," said Padma slyly "If that's the position you chose to take. You will forgive us for doubting you, especially given the card and the roses."

Again Hermione found herself stumped "Card? Roses? What are you talking about?"

"You mean you don't know?" asked Lavender incrediously "The common room is crammed full of roses"

"Bunches and bunches of them" finished Lavender

"so? It's Valentines Day, is that really so incredible? If you add up all the roses given to all the students, I'm sure the common room would be full" stated Hermione.

"Which brings us to the card, you see, _all_ the roses are for only _one_ person Hermione"

"I am still failing to see what any of this has to do with me..."

"Honestly Hermione, here read the card" Lavender thrust a square piece of cardboard at her. Written in a neat, precise handwriting was the message

_Hermione, _

_Yesterday was the first day of the eternity we shall spend together. _

_Until forever my love._

She held the card limply in her hand. The words blurring.

'Yesterday'. What had she done yesterday? Who had she been with?

Why couldn't she couldn't remember.

"Listen, Lavender, I...that is, I don't know who sent this." She decided at the last minute not to confess her memory lapse, it would be all over the school by lunchtime.

"oh." Lavender looked thoroughly disappointed. She got up from her position on Hrmione's bed.

"Oh!" exclaimed Padma suddenly "I almost forgot, the roses, they also came with this"

She shrugged handing Hermione a green package.

Reluctantly, Hermione opened it. Inside was a leather bound book. The title written in a language she had never before seen. Despite herself, she found her interest piqued. Her two companions, apon seeing the boring contents of the package promptly lost interest and went back to their side of the room.

Idly Hermione began flipping through the pages of the book. Not a single word made sense to her. She would have to do some researching. Lost in the mystery of the books language, Hermione completely forgot the fact that she could remember nothing of the previous day.


	4. Parts 7 and 8 added 11 AUG

"I told you we should've looked in the library first!"

Hermione dimly recognised the distinctive voice of Harry

"No, I did, you wanted to wait in the common room" and sure enough the voice of Ron followed.

By now the pair we're close enough for Hermione and Harry to share a look.

"Fine Ron, if you say so"

They plonked themselves down at the table Hermione had been using while she attempted to discern the language of the book she had been given, Harry tried to see what she was reading, and Ron went straight into interrogation mode.

"Where were you yesterday? You wouldn't believe the kind of questions people have been asking... as if anyone would snog you!"

Hermione couldn't help but feel hurt by this, he made it sound as if she were repulsive. Her feeling were obviously reflected in her expression, for Harry immediately interjected

"Ah, what Ron meant was that we don't believe the rumours," Ron nodded at this

"But we would like to know where you were yesterday, it's a little hard to convince someone that the rumours are false, if we have to finish by saying that we don't actually know where you were, or what you were doing at the time..." he laughed nervously.

Hermione sighed. She didn't quite know what to tell her two friends. "Harry, Ron, I. Well, that is to say, I can't tell you where I was yesterday"

Harry looked hurt, Ron, angry.

"Since when do we keep secrets from each other? You have to tell us! People are making you out to be a scarlet woman," Hermione had to crack a smile at this, which was probably the wrong move, as it flared Ron's temper "It's not funny Hermione, I should think that you of all people would be concerned about this!"

He was right about that, and she was suddenly struck by just how blasé she was acting about the whole thing...

"Ron, that's not what I meant. I mean... I don't quite know how to tell you"

Harry leaned forward and placed his hand on hers 'Its alright Hermione, you can tell us anything, we're you're friends" he was gazing at her so earnestly, and she heard, herself very tactlessly blurting out "The thing is, I don't remember a single thing about yesterday... It's a complete blank"

She knew the minute she said it that it was a mistake. Harry looked troubled by the news, a faint furrowing of his brow was his only response. Ron however, flew off the handle

"What, what do you mean 'you don't remember anything'!" He leapt out of his seat, and it fell to the floor with an almighty crash. Madame Pince would be here any minute.

"It must have been a spell!"

To her amazement Harry nodded at this

"He's right Hermione, perhaps it was a spell that acts in the same manner as the date rape drug, victims of that quite often can't remember what happened to them..."

A look of confusion flickered briefly over Ron's face before disappearing, he was on a war path and nothing was to derail him from it.

"We should go to Dumbledore" Harry said.

That was the final straw "You're both being ridiculous! It's just a silly rumour, which will no doubt die out within a day!"

"Hermione," Harry said "Yes the rumour is bad, but that's not what I'm worried about, you say you don't remember yesterday- a whole day... we're living in dangerous times and you especially are a target"

She saw his line of thought "You, you think V," she took a deep breath "Voldemort has something to do with this?"

Harry looked gravely at her "What if he does?" he asked her softly, then vehemently said "I won't lose anyone else close to me to that bastard" she knew he was thinking of Sirius and his parents.

"Harry," she said softly "this is the first and only time its happened, and I doubt it will happen again, it's probably nothing"

Suddenly, Ron spoke up "Alright then, if its nothing, then _why_ can't you remember?"

"I've been studying very hard, maybe... maybe I've been working myself _too_ hard" and even to her own ears it sounded lame, they both looked at her incredulously.

She sighed "All right, if anything like this happens again I'll go to Dumbledore, but until, if ever, it happens, we just drop it o.k?"

Ron looked sullen, and Harry more than reluctant, but both nodded.

"Good" She picked her books and belongings up "Anyway, I'm off to do some fact finding" and with those words she left the two.

It never occurred to either boy that 'fact finding' generally takes place in the library. As for Hermione however, 'fact finding' meant asking Ernie Macmillan exactly what it was he saw the previous day. Surely when confronted with her actions, her memory would return.

**oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Hey guys, I can't begin to express how sorry I am for the unbelievably long hiatus, I hope you will forgive me! I want to thank all of you for your wonderful reviews, they mean so much to me, and re-reading them the other day convinced me that I had to make time to finish this story (and who said feedback never achieved anything!)._

_I apologise if Ernie Macmillan seems OC- the HP books never gave me a strong enough impression of his character, so I'm not sure that I've captured him correctly…_

_Incidentally, for those of you who have read HBP, you will be aware that this fic is completely incompatible- I hope however that that won't make it completely indigestible!_

_Anyway, happy readings and please review!_

**ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

Many hurtful things had been said about Hermione Granger.

_Insufferable_. _Know-it-all_. _Bookworm_. _Mudblood_. _Goody-goody_. _Uptight_. _Control Freak_.

Insults ricocheted around her mind, some almost forgotten, others still fresh and painful. But whatever had been said, as hurtful as the insults could be, Hermione acknowledged that they did contain a certain degree of undeniable truth.

She was a control freak. She was a know-it-all. And, as tasteless and vulgar as the language may be, she was a mudblood (or muggleborn as she preferred to think of it).

She could forgive those insults, could ignore them.

There was however, one thing that Hermione deemed untouchable- her reputation. Whatever could be said about her personality or her classroom habits, it was her opinion that her conduct was unblemished and irreproachable. Now Ernie Macmillan had called that reputation into question- it was not to be borne.

Hermione walked away from the library with purpose. She would find Macmillan and make him confess his callous lie to the school. He would break-down under her fury and admit that it had all be slander.

_But what if he was telling the truth? _A tiny voice questioned in the back of her mind.

"Nonsense, I would never behave in such a manner" Hermione declared, earning a few questioning glances from other students who were also walking the corridors.

_But how can you be so sure? You don't remember anything that happened yesterday_. The little voice persisted. Hermione scowled. She hated it when there were flaws in her logic- that seemed to be happening a lot lately.

Hermione was hit by a blast of freezing air, bringing her back to the reality of her surroundings. She had walked outside, and she was freezing.

_I need to calm down. Anger clouds the mind and prevents focus. I need to think. Where would Ernie be?_

She glanced at her watch. It was nearly dinner time. Hufflepuffs usually arrive early for the feast- perhaps she would find him there.

Re-entering the castle, she was enveloped in warmth. Resolutely Hermione set a course for the Great Hall. Her strides were purposeful, but she forced herself to walk at a calm and leisurely pace.

Entering the Great Hall, Hermione almost sighed aloud with relief. Ernie Macmillan was there, talking earnestly with Hannah Abott and Justin Finch-Fletchley. As if he felt her gaze, Ernie turned to look at her, abruptly ending his conversation. He said something to them, then stood up and walked towards Hermione. The two Hufflepuffs remained seated, but gazed at Hermione with open curiosity.

'Granger' Ernie said by way of greeting. 'I think I know why you're here'

Despite herself, Hermione felt her ire rise. He was acting guilty; obviously he had lied and was now ashamed.

'I'm sorry for what I did' he began 'I've been feeling retched all day'

Aha. It was exactly as she had expected. She knew she would nev- her line of though froze midsentence. Ernie was still talking

'You're a good egg, but I mean, we all know you need to loosen up, and the one time you decide to live a little, I go and blab to everyone. It really isn't any of my business if you decide to kiss someone. I mean, I should've just kept out of it- I know that now and I just wanted to say that I'm sorry' He looked at her earnestly.

Hermione felt her stomach drop. 'Do you mean to tell me that you actually stand by your ludicrous claim that you saw me kissing someone?'

Ernie looked confused. 'ludicrous? I did see you.'

He wasn't lying- he wasn't a talented enough actor to pretend to be so honestly confused. The best she could hope for was that he had been mistaken.

'Perhaps it was someone else you saw,' Hermione put forward tentatively. 'and you simply mistook them for me'

Ernie stared at her. 'I don't see why you're denying it to me- to others I could perhaps comprehend, but you and I both know what I saw.' He lifted his chin and pronounced with determination 'It was _you_ I saw. Not someone else. You even spoke to me- bid me good night you did.'

Hermione felt sick. He spoke with such conviction that he couldn't be lying. But still she could remember nothing. She couldn't possibly have behaved in such a manner-it was completely out of character. He simply must be lying, there was no other answer.

'For goodness sake Ernie' she spoke with force, 'This is a reprehensible prank to be played and if you don't desist in… pandering about these completely unfounded accusations I will simply report you to your head of house, where you will face serious consequences for your actions.'

'Unfounded accusations! Bloody hell Granger, where do you get off? Go ahead, report me to my head of house- I'll ask them to give me veritaserum or perform legilimency or anything Professor Sprout wants- I have nothing to hide, I'm telling the truth' he glared at her.

'I admit I acted like a right git telling everyone- I admit it. I can be a git. But I'm not a liar and for you to call me one, when you know perfectly well that I'm telling the truth… well, it's a right bloody snaky thing to do'. He looked at her reproachfully then stormed back to the Hufflepuff table.

By now the majority of the student body had begun filtering into the Great Hall, but Hermione heard nothing, saw nothing. Something Ernie had said trigger a recollection. One word: Snaky.

…_Snaky, snaky… snake_.

…_burning blue eyes, scorching lips, drowning..._

Ernie had been telling the truth.

_Viperidae, Viperinae, Crotalinae…_

_Slytherin_

Oh god, it had something to do with Slytherin.


End file.
